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We also had the pleasure of daytrippers Ryver, Jayesh, Jodster, Wintertrekking.com'ers Mike and Mike (who happened to also be overnighting in Valens), and finally Chris and Marisa of the Canadian Outdoor Equipment Company who came out to enjoy some good company, a roaring fire, great food, and a lot of laughs.

My big takeaways from Valen's this weekend were all about the momentum hammocking is developing and the number of people genuinely interested in learning about and even trying our take on traditional camping. Amother thing was the commitment of those already converted, like Crash and his much appreciated drive all the way from Western New Jersey to be with us. Mongrel's titanium woodstove was a thing of beauty and when matched with a more traditional "hot-tent", is a formidable kit for winter camping. Getting a chance to talk to our Wintertrekking guests was also very helpful, particularly as Valens was a jumping off point for a more traditional wnter hang in the upcoming month or two. It was good to see Chris and Marisa getting out to tour around the various hammock setups, we had a good sampling of the main themes, and hope that they'll be hanging around more. Of course, the roaring fire, courtesy of Jason, the BOSS and Dan8tro, made a great focus for over a dozen people to chat, swap stories, share food and just have a good old time. I think the ELG's are fimrly in the camp of "Having a fire"!!!

Anyway, if this was the "Gearing Up for Winter" hang, be sure to check out the EGL Winter in Algonquin hang late February 2012.

Last edited by Chard; 01-10-2012 at 14:38.
Reason: Rambling

Survival is about getting out alive, Bushcraft is about going in to live - Chard (aka Forest-Hobo)

I believe we forgot to mention the one whole traveled the greatest distance to attend this hang. Crash from New Jersey showed up on Saturday afternoon to hang with the EGL hang group.

I have confirmation from the Mike's that the overnight low for Saturday night was -6C.

The highlight of the weekend for me was the Four Dog Titanium woodstove belonging to Mongrel. Light as a feather for it's size. Bulging eye balls at the price, however, it should see a lifetime of service. Then there were the 2 noobie winter campers (in the camp ground) who came with a summer tent, a 6" air mattress and sleeping bags rated at +5C. Despite us giving them tips on how to improve their situation, they choose to be young and foolish and experience needless suffering. Those 2 seem to epitomize the tagline I saw recently. "Good judgement come from experience, which comes from bad judgement."

It seems our winter hangs at Valens are growing all the time. We had a dozen in our group plus a plethora of visitors mentioned by Chard.

We had a good time. Was great meeting all you guys, just need to get better at putting names to faces...always been a weakness of mine.
And [O]tter thanks again for the loan of those bags sure made our first hang much more enjoyable!
You can count us in on many more future hangs, with wood in tow.

the EGL Canadians do it right!

"I have confirmation from the Mike's that the overnight low for Saturday night was -6C." thats 21 degrees in Fahrenheit!! Ok thats the coldest I have been camping in.

I had a great time camping at Valens with the Canadians. They know how to make a great winter camping trip. I want to thank each and every one of you for making me feel welcome. Sorry I didn't get to meet you Bubba.

They come prepared! They brought a lot of wood for the campfire, Joe had a titanium stove, there was a cool homemade stove in a walled tent, brownies (what was in them brownies - eh?) & hot chili.
I learned to say -eh? and por-taaage.

Valens was a great place to crash for the night - heated bathrooms, laundry room and HOT SHOWERS. There were enough evenly spaced trees to hang a 100+ hammocks and that was just at our site.

"I have confirmation from the Mike's that the overnight low for Saturday night was -6C." thats 21 degrees in Fahrenheit!! Ok thats the coldest I have been camping in.

I had a great time camping at Valens with the Canadians. They know how to make a great winter camping trip. I want to thank each and every one of you for making me feel welcome. Sorry I didn't get to meet you Bubba.

They come prepared! They brought a lot of wood for the campfire, Joe had a titanium stove, there was a cool homemade stove in a walled tent, brownies (what was in them brownies - eh?) & hot chili.
I learned to say -eh? and por-taaage.

Valens was a great place to crash for the night - heated bathrooms, laundry room and HOT SHOWERS. There were enough evenly spaced trees to hang a 100+ hammocks and that was just at our site.

I can't wait to go again next year!

Hey Crash, glad you had a good time! I was really looking forward to meeting you especially since you came such a long way and from foreign country too.
There will probably be a winter back country trip planned somewhere like Algonquin Provincial Park. I know it would be an additional 3 or 4 hour drive for you but I'm sure you'd be welcome!